Leiden University

The Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies (LIRS) invites applicants for two Ph.D. Research Positions www.freshersworld.com

Vacancy Number : 12-012

The Faculty of Humanities hosts a wealth of expertise in fields including philosophy, religious studies, history, art history, literature, linguistics, and area studies, covering practically the entire world. The Institute for Religious Studies, part of the Faculty of Humanities, traces it origins back to 1575 when one of the first formed faculties of Leiden University was the Faculty of Theology. Since its founding the faculty has grown into a research intensive institute committed to high quality in teaching and research on a wide variety of religious traditions. Nationally and internationally, the Leiden Institute of Religious Studies is known for its impartial and unbiased study of religion in all its appearances. The two PhD students will work on a research project funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), entitled: Arabic and its Alternatives: Religious Minorities in the Formative Years of the Modern Middle East (1920-1950), supervised by prof. dr. H.L. Murre-van den Berg and dr. K. Sanchez. The project will be carried out in cooperation with the Leiden Centre for Linguistics (LUCL).

Description of the Project : This project aims to revisit the ways in which religious minorities in the Middle East participated in, contributed to, and were opposed to, the Arab nationalism of the post-war years, when the British and French ruled the region via the Mandates. This period of societal modernization and competing nationalisms saw the emergence of new political structures that would define the Middle East for most of the twentieth century. While Arabic nationalism, predicated as it was on the Arabic language more than on Islam, was seen as a positive development by many Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians, others showed increasing uneasiness with its ramifications. This was more specifically the case among those non-Muslims that in addition to Arabic highly valued other languages, such as Syriac, Hebrew and Armenian, but also English and French.

Requirements : The applicant has a Master’s or equivalent degree in Religious Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Semitic Studies, Linguistics, or History, and has obtained this degree no longer than five years ago. The MA-thesis must be of high quality, with a grade of at least 8.5 on a ten-point scale, or comparable assessment; The applicant’s MA-thesis testifies to well-developed research skills, including the ability to formulate relevant and creative research questions and hypotheses, descriptive and analytical skills, and a clear and persuasive style of writing; The applicant’s CV illustrates familiarity with and experience in research into the History of the Modern Middle East and its religious and linguistic make-up, preferably with an emphasis on the Jewish and/or Christian minorities and their languages; The applicant’s CV testifies to familiarity with the major theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Modern Middle East, with in-depth knowledge concerning at least one of the major fields contributing to the project, i.e., Religious Studies, Area Studies, Sociolinguistics, and History; The applicant has fluent reading competence in Arabic, Syriac or Hebrew, and French, in addition to an excellent command of English, in reading, writing and speaking; The applicant undertakes to finish the proposed Ph.D. research within 4 years, or, in case of a part-time arrangement (0,8), within 5 years at most; The Ph.D. research should result in a doctor’s degree from the Faculty of the Humanities of Leiden University under the primary supervision of prof. H.L Murre-van den Berg; The applicant’s CV testifies to an ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Please submit your application letter (with the vacancy number) and Curriculum vitae before 1st March , 2012, to vacaturesLIRS@hum.leiden.nl and h.l.murre@religion.leidenuniv.nl .  The Curriculum vitae should include contact details of two professors that are familiar with the academic work of the students and are willing to supply letters of recommendation or to be contacted directly about the student. Please add to your application the following appendices: the MA thesis, copy of relevant course assessment and the MA degree certificate, and other relevant documentation such as certificates of relevant language courses. www.freshersworld.com

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